


Little Mundane Things

by rideswraptors



Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Future Fic, M/M, apologies if it constitutes spoilers?, fluffy stuff, i couldn't decide, i do not partake in angst, i don't know what this is, mix of books and show
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-21
Updated: 2018-01-21
Packaged: 2019-03-07 14:10:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,888
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13436430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rideswraptors/pseuds/rideswraptors
Summary: Times Magnus realizes he and Alec are starting to get good again. One time Alec realizes it.





	Little Mundane Things

**Author's Note:**

> My best friend told me that the signs of a good relationship boil down to two things: how you fight and having fun during the “little mundane things” in life.

 

 

1.

The first time Magnus realized he and Alec were getting back to normal after that whole  _ fiasco _ , Magnus brought Alec lunch at the Institute. It wasn’t something he did  _ often _ , but occasionally he needed a good excuse to cut a client’s appointment short. Magnus didn’t have a problem getting food for Alec. Never had. But obviously it hadn’t escaped his notice that the boy could  _ eat _ . It was disgusting, truly, just how much he ate in a sitting. Magnus had very little social experience with Shadowhunters divorced from work or politics, so he’d always assumed they were all that way. 

Not so, if the looks on their faces were anything to go by. Magnus brought in four bags of Chinese, loaded mostly with Alec’s favorites, and some of his own. Clary walked toward him with outstretched arms, offering to unload. 

“Magnus! I didn’t know you were bringing everyone food,” she said sweetly, with a confused brow. He smoothly moved the bags out of her reach, setting them safely on the table.

“Not for you, Biscuit. For Alexander.” He nearly jumped out of his skin when two thick arms snaked around his waist, but when he felt a hot mouth at his neck, he settled back into that embrace. 

“Hey,” Alec mumbled against his neck. “Glad you could get away.” Magnus hummed and then turned around to kiss him properly.

“That’s all for  _ Alec _ ?” Clary asked, shock obvious in her voice. Magnus frowned and turned, hanging onto Alec’s neck as he did.

“Yes? Don’t you all--”

“I’m  _ starving _ ,” Alec interrupted, settling at the table as Izzy and Jace showed up with their own food. Simon even sauntered over with a blood bag, which Magnus thought tacky given the setting. Apparently he occasionally got a “hankering,” since his memories started coming back. But the confusing part was how normally portioned out the rest of their meals were compared to Alec’s, and that was when he realized just how  _ much _ Alec had been denying himself before he met Magnus. 

As the Shadowhunters settled in, Magnus observed them. They swapped and shared food, moving closer together, and distinctly away from Alec’s area. Alec himself was busily setting out his rice and noodles and sauces, separating what was his from what was Magnus’, and doling it all out. Magnus watched him with some amusement as he tucked in, still talking with his friends and siblings Alec was so involved in discussing something with Isabelle that he failed to notice he had Jace’s full attention as he portioned out things for Magnus. He passed over a dumpling, a sugar biscuit, beef and broccoli, some moo shoo pork, some noodles. Jace’s eyes widened considerably as he watched this process and he chewed his food so slowly it was almost a useless endeavor. Magnus wanted to ask what he was thinking, but Jace quickly caught his gaze. The blond’s eyes lit up with that gnarly mischief that practically oozed from his pores. It was unsettling.

“Hey Alec,” Jace asked, his voice cloyingly sweet, “Can I get an egg roll?”

“No.”

“Bu-”

“No,” Alec repeated, even as he put one on Magnus’ plate. Jace shot Magnus a giddy look that startled him a little. Unfortunately, the others had also caught on. 

“Is that plum sauce?” Clary asked slowly, sitting upright and alert to Jace’s manic expression. “It would go really well with…”

“Get your own, Fray,” Alec muttered before he kept on with his conversation. Simon, biting his bottom lip like a sneaky ten year old trying to steal cookies before dinner, reached his hand quickly towards an egg roll only for Alec to mindlessly slap his hand away. 

“Gah!” he squealed, retracting his hand and shaking it out. Clary patted his shoulder consolingly, but the lot of them were smirking. 

“What the hell, guys? Why are you all trying to get my food? You know I don’t share. I don’t even---Magnus, you’re not eating enough. Did you try this? No, you have to try it. Just take mine.” 

Magnus watched his boyfriend shuffle around containers so Magnus could try whatever Alec was currently eating with what was probably the dopiest, stupid in love, besotted grin ever. Firstly, because Alec didn’t even notice his blatant discrepancy. Secondly, because every other person present seemed to. Simon was watching them with a rather disgusted look on his face, but Clary looked like she could pinch their cheeks. Jace was red in the face from trying not to laugh, and Isabelle was covering a knowing smile with the palm of her hand. Alec carried on babbling about Magnus’ eating habits, while the rest of them watched him, love in their eyes.

Yeah, Magnus thought very quietly, they were really back together.

2.

Magnus, Alec, and Isabelle stood in front of a group of fresh faced shadowhunters who were hanging on Alec’s every word as he gave a talk about the importance of collaborating with downworlders. Magnus was impressed with how attentive the new underlings were when Alec spoke; if they whispered it was in deferential tones with awe in their eyes. He supposed the Lightwoods were somewhat infamous among their own. Hell, they were infamous among downworlders at this point. 

“...our end goal is to create informal teams who communicate and coordinate with one another not only about safety and defense, but interpersonal issues with the Accords which need to be addressed with the Clave.”

Magnus was beyond impressed with Alec’s initiative. Each team was required to seek out and make contact with a warlock who would serve as liaison and advisor in demonic activity. Eventually, Alec wanted each team to work directly with one of Luke’s teams. The Children of the Night were still too hesitant to work with Shadowhunters, but Lily was doing her best to persuade them. With Sebastian dead, hope was on the horizon. 

“Today, Magnus Bane has  _ graciously _ agreed to speak with you about dealing with warlocks and which services would be appropriate for you to seek out.” 

If Magnus could have walked in through smoke and glitter to make a more appropriately dramatic entrance, he would have. As it was, he merely gave a short, little bow, and threw up a magical projection of a map of Brooklyn. He was satisfied with the quiet gasps of surprise.

“As your noble leader already said, I am Magnus Bane, the High Warlock of Brooklyn. This,” he waved his hand towards the magic map, “is my area of responsibility. However, I venture out of this zone when called upon to do so. Warlock 101, we are a finicky bunch, so I highly recommend a face to face introduction through a mutual acquaintance, which at this point in time will be  _ me _ .” He kept talking, giving all sorts of advice and recommendations about what to do and what not to do when making requests from a warlock. As usual, he got a little sidetracked, and was going into a fascinating story about one time in northern Peru, when Alec tugged on his arm and interrupted.

“Stop telling people you’re a doctor,” he muttered lowly, amusement in his voice. Magnus had lost track of what he was saying, of course, but he did have that tendency to embellish details. Magnus smirked.

“I  _ was _ . For three days.” Three very, very drunk days.

“Not  _ legitimately _ .” 

“That’s neither here nor there, the point is my story.” 

“Yeah, a fictitious story.”

“Mere truth is so boring, Alexander.” 

At that point, the crowd was getting a little restless and Isabelle leaned over to whisper.

“You told me you did open heart surgery on a Persian magistrate!” she hissed irritably, eyebrow cocked with betrayal. Magnus lifted a finger and opened his mouth to argue, but had to concede the point.

“I may have fibbed about that one.” He waved a hand dismissively, “It’s so hard to keep track.” 

“Magnus,” Alec said warningly. 

“Oh  _ fine _ ,” he turned back to the crowd with a bit of a whip, “So I wasn’t  _ supposed _ to be transplanting a liver, but the overall point is that I did and it was successful and the patient survived.” 

Alec cleared his throat, “They can’t be a patient if you’re not a medical professional.”

“Semantics.”

“ _ Facts _ .”

“Not in Peru,” Magnus shot back sunnily, eyes still facing the crowd.

“You’re banned from Peru.”

A titter went up among the Shadowhunters, all of them looking vaguely amused by the exchange. Certainly there weren’t too many who hadn’t heard of their affair. It was excessively romantic after all. He cut a glance over to Alec and felt his whole person warm at the look of fondness there. 

He’d missed this easiness between them. Alec had been so careful with himself, watching his words, mincing his opinions in mixed company. It had Magnus cringing at the sheer awkwardness. He supposed it was a natural response to the need to rebuild trust; he appreciated Alec’s efforts. But before their...tiff...Alec had always mocked his need to embellish, called him out for the flourishes he included in his stories which weren’t necessarily fact-based but appreciated all the same. That had stopped when they’d gotten back together, and Magnus really had no idea how much he’d missed that back and forth. Not until that moment.  _ Shit _ , they were really together again. 

But people were watching. So he swallowed back what were surely tears, and launched into a discussion of inappropriate warlock requests. Which was a lengthy list.   
  


3.

Let it never be said that Magnus Bane did not go above and beyond for his clients. In the midst of brewing a rather complex and testy potion, he realized one of the main ingredients was out of date and definitely needed to be replaced. Unfortunately, it was a particularly rare herb and difficult to procure on short notice. He’d been forced to cancel his afternoon appointments to hunt down the specific herbologist known for growing it. Second unfortunately, said herbologist didn’t like to be found on short notice. So, Magnus had to swap favor after favor with consecutive individuals in order to exchange information and track the man down.

Turned out he was in Berlin, hidden away under a warded church. He claimed it was a better environment for his mushrooms. Magnus couldn’t really argue that point, the place was certainly dank and damp, but he did threaten to turn him into a mushroom if he wasn’t readily available to Magnus the next time he needed something specific. The herbologist was paid handsomely for his troubles, and Magnus even freshened up some of his wards free of charge, but overall it was a trying day. He didn’t return to New York until well after midnight. 

When he portalled into his living room, he half expected to see Alec sprawled out on the sofa, or sitting up with paperwork in his lap. However, the room was completely dark. Physically, Magnus shrugged, but mentally, his mind went to some pretty dark places. One: Alec had overworked himself again and slept at the Institute. Not ideal, but fine. Two: He’d been called out on a mission last minute. Again, not ideal, but acceptable. Three: He was dead in an alley somewhere having bled to death because Jace was too busy making eyes at Clarissa. Each was as likely as the last, and not at all unexpected. Nothing had been said, of course, but Alec still wasn’t officially “moved in.” They seemed to be deftly skirting around the issue, each too nervous to broach the subject when their relationship was so...tremulous.

Magnus sighed and poured himself a drink. Alec Lightwood-related insecurities were old hat at this point. He was far more accustomed to worrying over losing him than simply loving him. It was a problem that wouldn’t be resolved after midnight, that was for certain. He downed his drink and banished the glass to the sink, petulantly. Alec scolded him for being too cavalier with his magic, so he occasionally toned it down. At least he hadn’t banished it to  _ someone else’s _ sink. He rolled his neck to undo the kinks and caught a stray bit of light out of the corner of his eye. It was coming from his bedroom. Curious, he made his way over and inched the door open slightly. When his brain caught up to his eyes, he all but melted against the doorframe. 

Alec was curled up on top of the blankets, fully clothed, boots still on, and snoring softly. He looked like he’d just walked right through the door and crashed onto the bed. Crashed onto the bed without carefully cleaning himself up so as not to disturb Magnus’ universe. Carelessly left his boots on while hugging Magnus’ favorite pillow to his chest because he was tired and Magnus was gone. Invaded and inhabited that space like it belonged to him. Like he was  _ home _ . 

Magnus brought a hand to his lips, throat tight from the breath caught there. But he must have been too loud because Alec was sniffling and stirring from his spot. Bleary-eyed, he lifted his head and grinned sleepily.

“Hey baby,” he said, voice rough and low. He blinked and twisted to look out the window. “What time is it?” 

“Late,” Magnus answered weakly. “Go back to sleep, Alexander.” 

He must not have registered what Magnus said because he looked up and down himself and winced. 

“Must’ve crashed,” he grumbled, kicking off his shoes and settling back into the soft of the bed.

“Must have,” Magnus repeated, finally walking into the room, shedding his clothing and jewelry as he went. By the time he’d summoned his sleep boxers, Alec was making grabby hands for him, all but whining. Magnus huffed a laugh and complied, letting Alec drag him into the circle of his arms and blanket his body around him. He was a veritable furnace, and Magnus found himself melting into his embrace. He felt a lingering kiss pressed to his temple.

“You find the shroom guy?”

Magnus laughed, “I did indeed.”

“Good. Stop going places,” Alec mumbled petulantly.

“Mmm, you first.” 

“Okay,” Alec agreed all too easily. 

“Careful Shadowhunter,” Magnus teased with a yawn, “or I’ll lock us in here for a week.”

Alec yawned right back, “Long’s we’re ‘gether.”  

_ Together _ . Yeah, Magnus thought as he ran his fingers along Alec’s forearm,  _ together _ . 

4.

  
  


The club was crowded. Well, Pandemonium was always  _ crowded _ , but it was even more so because Magnus’ manager had miraculously lined up one hell of a show for a random Tuesday in April. Magnus had been complaining that their numbers were too low in the spring, that they needed to draw in a crowd every once in a while. And he definitely got what he wanted.

Unfortunately, that meant a few extremely long work days he would have cheerfully avoided if at all possible. It wasn’t. He had several high-rolling clients who wanted to attend and required not only added security and table service, but Magnus’ unwavering attention as well. He had just installed them in one of their private rooms, which had a full, projected view of the stage as well as a buffet and a private bar. Not to mention other  _ entertainments _ . Magnus was no flesh peddler, but that didn’t stop him from contracting out on occasion.

Now, he was up on the catwalk, looking down over his club with his head of security, going over the minor details of several upcoming events. He had his forearms on the railing, one ankle crossed over the other as he scanned the crowd. Damn, he threw one hell of a party. There was certainly no denying that. It was just that he would much rather have been at home tonight. Alec and his hunters had been working overtime to deal with a strange influx of demons; it was all hands on deck, even the interim Head of the Institute. Besides, Alexander was more of a hands on kind of man. But tonight was the first of his nights off. He was giving himself three nights at home with Magnus, and suddenly his manager had become enterprising. He loved and hated the man simultaneously. Of course, that meant long meetings with his staff and security team. Even during a party.

That’s when Magnus caught sight of a slight wave-shaped break among the crowd. His patrons typically didn’t step aside for anyone, VIP or no, so it was odd. He traced the wave to the source and felt his heart lurch in his chest.

Alec was propped up against the bar, looking very comfortable there and wearing the mauve Hugo Boss dress shirt Magnus had insisted on buying him. He was the Head of the New York Institute and needed to dress like it. That he looked drop dead delicious in fitted dress shirts was just an added bonus. Alec’s immediate area at the bar cleared out quickly once people caught sight of his deflect rune. Tolerance or no, not many clubbers were interested in a run-in with a Shadowhunter. Alec didn’t seem to notice, or if he did, he didn’t seem to mind. Instead he lifted his hand in a friendly wave to the bartender, Jacinda, he thought. She was one of the regular bartenders, and immediately recognized Alec. She shot him a bright smile and held up a finger for him to wait. A shot of jealousy went down Magnus’ spine, but it ameliorated when Alec instantly turned, his Nephilim eyes scanning the crowd. Magnus watched several patrons perk up, trying to catch Alec’s attention, Shadowhunter or no. Daredevils, they were. Alec ignored them all. He had a specific target in mind.

His attention went right back to Jacinda when she showed up with his usual drink. Jack and coke; simple, salt of the earth type of drink. Magnus decided to keep watching for a little while. He liked seeing Alec so comfortable there, liked that he knew and got along with the employees. In fact, Magnus watched several of his bartenders abandon their lucrative posts to go say hello to him, chat for a short while, shake his hand. He watched them snap at customers and then turn smiles on Alec before getting back to their jobs. While he wasn’t entirely sure he was happy about his staff being so distractible, he was deeply pleased that they were on friendly terms. Eric was still talking.

“Eric,” Magnus said, lifting a hand to the man’s face, “I officially don’t care about your lovers spat. Take them off the list if it’s such a problem. I’ll handle it.” He turned on his heel to make his way down the floor. “Another pressing matter needs my attention, ta.” 

“Tell Alec I said hello!” Eric called out as a parting shot. Magnus elegantly flipped him off in response as he trotted down the steps.

Somehow, several clients managed to spot him as he went to the bar and glob on without Magnus’ permission. He did his best to be as polite as he could as he dismissed them, but Phaelen was far too high profile to ignore completely. And besides, these were his business hours after all. 

“This guy has my balls in a vice grip--”

“Well if you would have kept your hands to yourself--”

“How is this my fault? It was your plan, your advice, and somehow I’m at fault.”

“Paid services, Phaelen,” Magnus grumbled as he signed a few papers brought to him by runners. Unfortunately, the man kept complaining, so Magnus kept consoling, until he finally got to the bar where Alec was waiting. He was about to launch into a commiserating dismissal, but was cut off when Alec pulled him into his side, throwing an arm around his shoulders.

“All finished?” he asked, pressing a kiss to Magnus’ temple. Magnus shook his head tiredly, turning to look up at him and explain. Phaelen interrupted.

“Wait your turn, asshole. We’ve got business.” 

Indolent, Alec turned his attention to Phaelen as if just realizing he was there. His appraising look was slightly irritated and more than a little unimpressed. 

“Who’s this?” he asked Magnus, completely ignoring Phaelen, who turned a bright red.

“Alec Lightwood, Phaelen Grimes, hedge fund manager.”

“A mundie?”

“ _ Alexander _ .” 

Alec scowled, “Look man, he’s officially on a break. Make an appointment.” Phaelen took an aggressive step forward, looking ready to shout, but Alec held out a firm hand to the man’s chest, stopping him in his tracks. “I would rethink that decision, if I were you,” Alec said lowly, lifting his brows in what Magnus could only assume was a threatening manner. 

“Don’t antagonize clients, darling.”

“ _ I’m _ antagonistic?” 

“We’re not finished here, Bane,” the man spat out. Quite literally spitting with rage. 

“Simmer down, Phaelen, come to my loft tomorrow morning, and we’ll work something out. I’m sure there’s a...diplomatic solution.” 

“That’s not--!”

Alec sighed with a hard roll of his eyes, “You’d better get rid of him before I do.”

“How many times do I have to tell you not to maim clients?”

“I don’t  _ maim _ , I threaten to maim. There is a legal difference. And how many times do I have to tell you to set boundaries? How are you supposed to run this club while you’re dealing with mundane drama?”

“I didn’t ask him here--”

“But you’re entertaining the idea--”

“Yeah, I was trying to clear my schedule for tomorrow because  _ someone _ sprung the news of a day off on me without warning.” 

“That was all Jace--”

“While I do enjoy blaming dear Jonathan for every one of your flaws, it’s your improvising that’s the problem here--”

They went back and forth like this for several minutes, enjoying the banter and being close to one another. Magnus’ hands had wandered to Alec’s waist and Alec was playing with his necklaces as they talked. Both men completely missed Phaelen throwing up his hands in defeat and walking away from the situation. Magnus didn’t truly care, he just had to  _ look _ like he cared occasionally. But he was far more interested in Alec whispering in his ear about his day and what he had planned for them tomorrow, both dirty and domestic. Magnus was loving how casual and open Alec was being about expressing affection in public. It wasn’t blatant or upsetting to anyone, just close and loving. He couldn’t keep his hands to himself, and Magnus didn’t want him to. 

Unfortunately, Magnus’ business for the evening was far from over, but Alec cheerfully agreed to accompany him. After that, Magnus’ evening was infinitely more pleasurable. He was able to do work and make side comments to his pretty arm candy, all the while feeling Alec’s hands and gaze on him. He wasn’t sure if Alec was aware of his own competency kink, but it was definitely apparent to Magnus. Alec watched him every time he spoke with someone, smiled when he used magic, or pressed a kiss to some body part when he was particularly witty. Magnus’ clients and colleagues watched this with a mixture of wariness and amusement. It was almost as if the majority of their attention was on Alec while Magnus spoke, instead of Magnus himself. Magnus found himself oddly charmed by it all, and pleasantly surprised. 

He loved that Alec manhandled him as he did his business, loved that he easily maneuvered to Magnus’ private booth. He sat down, pulled Magnus onto his lap, and twined his arms around his middle. People descended on them like vultures, and Magnus found himself handling them with an ease and efficiency he didn’t have when Alec wasn’t present. Being able to touch him while he negotiated prices and scheduling conflicts was such a little luxury. He was going to have to figure out how to indulge in it more often. He wondered idly how much convincing it would take to get Alec to come to work with him once a week, for him to lounge around doing nothing while Magnus handled things. Probably quite a lot, but then, he did always enjoy it when Magnus came to the Institute. He drew his fingers through Alec’s hair absently as he spoke with a client, pulling a low, appreciate hum from him. Maybe he would agree. 

All Magnus knew was that things were better when they were together.

  
  


5.

Walking through the halls of the New York Institute was never an easy thing for Magnus. The whole place was littered with tainted memories he’d rather forget. Of course, there were bright spots too. He’d started pulling Alec into certain places and rooms where he’d had negative experiences and ravishing him until they were inevitably interrupted. Magnus smirked to himself and sipped at his americano. It helped. It wasn’t perfect, but it helped. 

The morning was still new, as Magnus had risen early to escape the confines of the Institute before the Nephilim rose for training and orders. Alec had pulled a late night in an attempt to get paperwork filed for a new crop of recruits before the Academy re-opened from their excessively short summer break. After midnight, Magnus had portalled over to see what the hold up was to find Alec wild eyed and harried amidst more paper than Magnus had ever seen in his life. Who knew Shadowhunting was such a bureaucracy? So he’d conjured up some snacks and coffee, and helped his boyfriend get organized enough to regain sanity. Alec had fallen asleep on the couch somewhere near 4:00 AM. For Magnus, enough was enough, and he helped Alec get to his room and into bed before whisking out for a breakfast meeting. Magnus wasn’t concerned about that though; he’d conducted these kinds of meetings drunk or stoned out of his mind and still managed to keep clientele. 

He was, however, concerned about the click of stilettos announcing Maryse Lightwood’s impending arrival.

They’d had very few run-ins for the last several months, and Magnus could only presume that was Alec’s intentional decision. They weren’t friendly, but they weren’t at each other’s throats either. Alec had thrown up boundary after boundary, and here was Maryse Lightwood, respecting them all. She’d finally figured out that there was more than one path to restoring a family’s reputation, he supposed. He just couldn’t figure out why Raziel would ever bless the two of them with such lovely, intelligent, well-intentioned children to begin with. He shrugged and continued sipping at his coffee, prepared to blow by her without incident. 

“Magnus,” she greeted him with a light smile on her face, “I didn’t realize you were such an early bird. What brings you by?”

By Lilith, she almost sounded  _ pleasant _ , he thought very, very quietly to himself. Not that he was one to look a gift horse in the mouth, but he did trip a little over his answer.

“I--” He tossed a hand in a useless gesture, “I’m on my way out, actually.” She frowned, and he was almost convinced it was out of confusion instead of disgust. He rolled his eyes. “Alexander was finishing up paperwork and didn’t come…” He lifted his brows, self-correcting almost immediately. “He didn’t check in until late, so I thought I’d help move things along.” 

Maryse straightened, brow still furrowed and crossed her arms. “What’s he working on? I haven’t heard of anything requiring that much attention.” Magnus gave her a brief run down of what he’d understood from Alec’s rambling explanations. By the end, she was nodding, pulling her lips into a thin line. 

“I told him to delegate that. The stubborn--” She cut herself off with an impatient flick of her hand. Magnus actually found himself smiling in commiseration. 

“Sounds like him, though. Ever the perfectionist.” 

Maryse dipped her head and lifted her brows, “He gets that from Robert.” Magnus snorted, earning him a stage-worthy scowl. “At any rate, I’m glad he let somebody help him. I’ll just have to move my schedule around to cover for him. Let him sleep.” Magnus was almost impressed with the lack of criticism, the ready acceptance, how easily she was willing to step in. Izzy reported that she’d been different since the end of the war. She’d spent more time at the Institute, checked in with her children, and was not nearly so critical. 

“Speaking of,” she continued, as if the topics were related, “how is that warlock child? The little girl from the day Valentine…” she bobbled her head in lieu of elaborating, “I think Alec called her Madzie?” 

Magnus was momentarily stunned. For multiple reasons, actually. For one, he was fairly certain Maryse had never had any direct contact with Madzie. For another, that meant Alec was  _ speaking to his mother _ . Furthermore, Maryse was  _ listening _ . A stunning development which did not fit with her overall character.

“Uh, yeah. Yes. Madzie is wonderful. She is living with a good friend of mine and adjusting very well. We just saw her--”

“Last weekend,” Maryse laughed with a nod. “I know. Alec wouldn’t stop talking about how cute she was. And smart.” She bit her lip. “I don’t know what your friend’s situation is, but I still have quite a bit of Izzy’s clothes from when she was that age…”

“Cat would love that,” Magnus interrupted immediately, terrified that he would be stunned into silence if she kept talking. “I mean...she says I’m spoiling the girl even though I have money to spare and then some, but something from you--”

“Only if she wants it, I wouldn’t want to impose--”

“Of course.”

“It’s just that we don’t really need it--”

“Sure.”

“And I’d like to…” She dropped off again with a sigh and slumped down a bit. “Why is this so hard?” 

“Decades of mutual hatred and institutionalized bigotry?” he offered with a shrug. 

She quirked a brow, “To start.” Magnus had to laugh at that. To start, indeed. She hadn’t liked him when he was just an annoying warlock the Circle contended with. Now, he was the High Warlock, intimately involved with Clave politics and her beloved firstborn son. 

A small smile came over her face, “Alec’s always been so good with children. I’d always hoped…” She shrugged, her expression somewhat sheepish. “I suppose there’s other ways. Izzy’s always saying--” She immediately snapped her mouth shut, eyebrows almost to her hairline. Was she saying what he thought she was saying? No...no, she couldn’t… “Well anyway, I’ll have Izzy vet the outfits before sending them along with Alec.” She smiled at him and started to walk away. Before she could get too far, Magnus spun on his heel with a hand lifted.

“Maryse?” he called out. He shrugged, “It was...nice to see you?” 

She pressed her lips together in response, obviously amused due to the way her shoulders slightly shook. This was such a weird situation. She was being nice and pleasant and helpful because...well...because he and Alec were together. She had finally accepted that they were  _ together _ . Hell, she was heavily suggesting that he and Alec could  _ adopt a child _ together. 

“Go get some sleep, Magnus, you look like shit,” she said gently, before she disappeared in a cloud of perfume to the sound of clicking heels. 

By Lilith, his life had gotten weird, and that was saying something considering his colorful history and how many monkeys were involved. Magnus had to do a full body shake to get rid of the strangeness. He was saved from self-reflection by the buzzing in his pocket, alerting him to yet another client needing his attention that day. 

6.

It was a success. A riot. Absolutely fantastic. The party was in full swing, and by all accounts everyone was having a good time. Magnus Bane, however, had snuck into his and Alec’s bedroom fifteen minutes before, and was currently sipping a martini while watching the Manhattan skyline in the distance. He wasn’t unhappy, but he wasn’t exactly enjoying himself either. 

Regrettably, the party had been his own idea. It was Lily’s birthday, and Magnus had offered up the loft as viable locale for such a party. Well, he’d offered Pandemonium, but Lily didn’t want that kind of thing. She’d said a quiet dinner with a few friends  _ if _ he was going to force her to celebrate at all. Naturally, Magnus agreed. A quiet dinner at his and Alec’s apartment. With 100 of her closest friends. 

Lily was bemoaning her fate to Izzy and Simon while the party raged all around. Magnus had been celebrating his success with a petty kind of glee when an overwhelming melancholy swept over him. So, he’d retreated into the sanctuary of the room he shared with Alec. It was a calming space for him. 

He wasn’t alone for very long, as the door opened and quickly shut behind him. As he’d put wards on the door which only permitted himself and Alec through, he could take a pretty good guess as to whose arms slid around his waist. 

“Did we switch bodies or something?” Alec laughed near his ear. “Usually I’m the one who hides, and you come to find me.” And that did make Magnus chuckle. Alec was notorious for disappearing during Magnus’ fetes. Magnus would look for him after he’d had some time to wind down and regroup. This was definitely a role reversal for them. 

He hummed and leaned back into Alec’s arms. “I was thinking about Ragnor.” 

“The one who died. Shax demon?” Magnus nodded, hands moving down to cover Alec’s. “Cat says you were pretty close,” Alec mused. “Still wish I could’ve met him.”

“He would have liked you,” Magnus told him, “eventually.”

“I--take that as a compliment.” 

“Catarina asked me to lecture at the Academy. She, uh, may have used Ragnor against me in her argument. He taught at the Academy, you know, before the Uprising.”

“I was two.” 

Magnus snorted, “I know. I may have berated your mother a time or two in those days.” 

“Did you really?”

“Repeatedly. Disparagingly. I believe I referred to you as a  _ repellent brat _ once in your unborn state.”

“I’m sure she was very impressed.” 

They snickered together for a moment, considering everything that had happened. 

“If I do this, lecture at the Academy, will you come with me? To Alicante?”

“Pssht, like I’d let you go without me.” Alec squeezed him and lightly swayed in place. “It’ll be nice. I can take a break from the Institute. Talk to some people about that idea I have…”

That idea being his stepping down as Head. That idea being working among the Downworlders instead of at the Institute. They had been talking about it quite a lot recently, now that things had settled down to routine. Well, Alec talked and Magnus tried not to get his hopes up too high. Alec would work as a consultant for downworlders. Almost like a downworlder lawyer, and act as mediator between them and the Institute. He had every intention of naming Jace and Clary as his successors. Personally, Magnus thought he was long overdue for a break, but he’d kept his mouth shut. Until now. 

“Don’t toy with my emotions, shadowhunter…” he grumbled wearily. The response he got was Alec spinning him around kissing him soundly. 

“I’m serious,  _ warlock _ . It’s time. And I’d like to spend time with you in Alicante when it’s not overrun with psychos and demons.”

Magnus shrugged lightly, “That’s fair.”

“Besides, I’m pretty sure the Academy has a bunch of your stuff that they’ve confiscated over the years and we can probably get it back…” he bobbled his head, “In exchange for information of course.”

Magnus sighed and slid his hands up Alec’s chest, “Ah, relentless.”

“Yep,” he answered with a sunny smirk. Then he took up the warlock’s hand and started pulling him toward the door. “Now we should probably join the party,” he said with a wink. 

“That was sad. Even for you, the worst flirt I have ever met in my 700 years.”

“That’s no understatement,” Alec said with a wry grin. “You know what isn’t an understatement,” he quoted back. 

“This is literally the worst seduction of my life. And a monkey tried once. In Peru, actually,” he babbled as Alec pulled him against his body and backed them against the door. 

“I guess I’ll have to put out a little more effort,” he chuckled against Magnus’ lips. 

“Or just put out,” he muttered between kisses. Alec wrapped his arms more tightly around him, making him grin into the kiss. “I’m all for effort.”

“Dork.”

“Sap.” He bit at Alec’s chin teasingly. “Are you going to keep quoting me back to me for the rest of my life?” He reached around to open the door. 

“God I hope so,” Alec muttered, pulling Magnus back into the party. 

  
  


1+

Alec was sitting at his desk, hunched over one of the rookie’s poorly written reports trying to discern what the hell had happened. He was going to have to have a conversation with the kid about his garbage writing. Just as he was making a few aggressive notes on the side, Magnus came strolling in like a beam of sunlight to brighten the place. Never failed to make Alec smile like a goddamn idiot.

“Hello darling,” he said cheerfully, meeting Alec as he stepped around the desk to kiss him hello. Alec leaned into the kiss maybe a little longer than was appropriate, but it was his office, damn it, so he’d do as he liked. He pulled back to see a blissed out expression on Magnus’ face, and he couldn’t help but press another kiss to the corner of his right eye. Predictably, Magnus flashed his cat eyes in response, making Alec smile all the wider. 

“You’re here early,” Alec said, wrapping his arms around Magnus, who slid his arms around Alec’s neck. “Everything all right?” Magnus immediately nodded, humming the affirmative.

“Just wanted to see you before the meeting.”

Alec waggled his brows, “Some people call that collusion.”

“Mmm, sounds a little like sleeping with the enemy,” he leaned in to kiss Alec again, who humored him for a moment. 

“But seriously, what’s up? You got the little line in your forehead, so something’s definitely wrong.” 

Magnus sighed a little irritably, “I hate it when you do that.”

“You love it.”

“Unfortunately, I do.” He dropped his arms and did a bit of a turn to go pour himself a drink. Alec only kept liquor there for Magnus’ personal use. “It’s Lily.”

“She okay?”

“Of course,” Magnus said airily, waving his hand dismissively. “Except that she’s been getting quite a bit of flack from some of the clan. She’s been...under stress.” 

“Flack about what exactly?”

“Leadership abilities,” Magnus answered with a lofty spin as he sipped a drink. “There’s a circle of them who believe that Lily is failing them by associating with Shadowhunters. Between this council and the Seelie Queen…”

“Camille.”

“Touche. At any rate, I am concerned about the tone of this meeting if she comes in hot and ready to push back.” 

“I can handle Lily, Magnus,” Alec said tiredly. 

Magnus held up a finger and downed the rest of his drink, “I don’t want you to  _ handle _ her, darling, I want you to understand where she’s coming from.” 

“So what? Go easy on her? Say yes to whatever she wants?” he asked defensively. These meetings had been...tense since they’d gotten back together. They danced back and forth over this line that neither one of them was willing to admit was there. Sometimes they overshared, made a mess of things. Sometimes they held back, immediately apologized, and went right back to oversharing. It was guilt-driven on Alec’s part, and all he could think was that this way meant madness. He was having a hard time believing that they weren’t going to slip up and break up, and make a whole new mess of things. 

“No such thing, Alexander,” Magnus said gently. He set his glass aside and moved back into Alec’s space, brushing imaginary lint off of his shoulders and putting a hand to cup the side of his head. He brushed a thumb over his ear. “I just think that...context is important, and you can use that context however you see fit.” 

“Really,” Alec murmured, feeling his insides melt into mush. He couldn’t tell if it was Magnus’ words or his proximity, but it was definitely all Magnus. 

“Really,” his beautiful warlock boyfriend said, pressing another kiss to his lips, “Now come on, we’re going to be late and Lucian has too much fun teasing me as it is.” 

They walked through the hall together, arm in arm, mostly because Alec kept pulling him in closer every time he drifted too far away. Magnus finally caved and slid his arm through Alec’s. They earned a few looks, but they were all friendly, mostly waves and good mornings and people trying to chase Alec down for signatures. Well, until they saw Magnus and turned tail immediately. Everyone knew Alec was off limits when Magnus was around; there was no holding his attention. Izzy even made a mail slot for his office just for such occasions; it was much simpler than field operatives getting chewed out for being over eager. 

Luckily, he and Magnus made it to the conference room just as Luke and Lily were coming in, escorted by a very smiley Izzy. Alec scowled at her, and she spat out her tongue at him in return before kissing Lily’s and Luke’s cheeks in turn. She was gone with clacks of too expensive heels and a cloud of perfume. Lily watched her go with a sour look.

“That woman lives to get me into trouble,” she grumbled sullenly before turning back to the others. “Shall we?” 

“You sure?” Luke asked laughingly, “You don’t want to go get your balls back from Izzy?”

“Shut up, Garroway.” 

“Have a little pity, Luke,” Alec teased, “my sister has a particular aptitude for lethality.” 

“In multiple languages,” Magnus added with an appreciative lift of his brows. Alec chuckled. 

“Come on, let’s get this started.” 

Alec opened the door so they could all file in before him. Magnus was the last of the three, groping his ass on the way in. Alec rolled his eyes, but smiled anyway. Discussions started almost immediately before anyone could sit down or get settled. Predictably, it was Lily voicing complaints. Alec cut a glance over to Magnus who pulled an  _ I told you so _ face before collapsing into his designated chair. He’d conjured it up specifically for himself and cursed it to put a tack in the ass of anyone else who tried to sit on it. Alec thought him ridiculous, but had to admit that it was pretty funny when it caught certain members of the Clave unawares. 

Even with Luke trying to intercede, Lily was relentless in her insistence that she needed the Shadowhunters to back off her people in public spaces. Alec wasn’t totally impressed with the idea, and even Luke conceded that they had a job to do. They weren’t just going to look the other way if vampires were causing public disturbances just as a favor. That’s when Lily sighed heavily, eyes trained on the table. 

“There have been...problems at the hotel. A few guys got some feathers ruffled, there’s some back and forth, spats on the street.” She trailed off with a shrug, as if she had control over it. Alec knew a little better, but given what Magnus said, so he swallowed his irritation on that point. 

“Obviously we have no business with internal issues, but I could pull back patrols in your area provided that you report anything which falls under our jurisdiction.”

“Why would you do that?”

“Well it helps out my people, too. My teams have been overworked since the fallout from Sebastian’s attack. They need a break. If we have the opportunity to scale back, then I’m going to take it. Unless you have some objection?”

“No, not at all. I’m just surprised.”

“I trust you.” He turned to Luke. “Speaking of, we’ve got to bring in that rogue pack. Do you have any leads or ideas?” 

“Actually, I was hoping to get some help from your hunters. Normally, we’d handle it ourselves, but we’ve had too many injuries, and they’re officially considered hostile.” 

“That can be arranged. I’ll give as many bodies as possible, but you’ll need to give them their specific orders. We’re assisting, not leading.”

“And how do you plan on explaining that to your hunters? I’m not sending my guys out with yours if they’re just gonna do what they want anyway.” 

Alec nodded, “I’ll ask Jace for recommendations based on status reports from our cooperative program, and put the team together myself.”

“I think you should give it to Clarissa. She deserves a little recognition for her efforts of late, no?”

Alec swivelled his head in Magnus’ direction, so very obviously trying to hold back a grin even though he was exasperated by the comment. 

“While, I appreciate the recommendation, I think I will defer to Luke’s preference for team leader.” 

Magnus smirked, “I appreciate being appreciated.”  

“And here I thought the High Warlock of Brooklyn would demand it.”

“Well usually--”

“ _ Down boy _ , flirt on your own time. Pull up those patrol maps, Lightwood. I want to establish checkpoints for everyone’s patrols.”

“Me, too,” Luke agreed with a short nod. He gestured between them. “On both points, I might add.” 

With a laugh, Alec got up to pull the maps onto the screen. He used a pointer to highlight what he was talking about, but eventually Lily and Luke were out of their seats squabbling over minutiae and gesturing with their own hands. Alec pulled back, listening to them discuss as he went around to stand behind Magnus, who was lounging back in his seat. He put his hands on Magnus’ shoulders and dropped a kiss to the top of his head, watching the other two bicker. 

“Absolutely inappropriate, Mr. Lightwood, I should report you,” Magnus muttered teasingly, but his hand came up to cover one of Alec’s and he didn’t even attempt to shy away from contact. 

“I thought you appreciated being appreciated?” Alec chuckled back, putting some pressure on his fingertips and pulling a hum from Magnus.

“Careful, darling, you’re giving me ideas.”

“Now who needs to be reported?”

“...Lightwood? Oi! Papi, keep your hands to yourself and keep your eyes on me. Do you see this block? It has a ton of abandoned buildings. Why do you all need to be running around in buildings? Let my people patrol them just in case they get stuck after dawn.”

“Not a chance, Chen. That warehouse is a hot bed for mundane criminal activity. No way does it fall under your jurisdiction,” Alec argued, hands still on Magnus. 

“It’s in my territory.”

“I said we’d pull back, not avoid it completely. My people need to check that warehouse at least once a night.” 

“It’s in the middle of the block!”

“So it’s an exception to the rule. They’ll be under strict orders not to linger.” 

“We could put wards up there,” Magnus offered quietly, making Alec tilt his head thoughtfully.

“For the whole class, Bane?” Luke said with a scowl.

“ _ WE COULD PUT SOME WARDS UP? YOU KNOW, MAGIC _ ?” Magnus shouted, cupping his hands around his mouth. Lily winced at the volume, but Luke’s expression dropped into a stony glare. Alec could only laugh. 

“It is a good idea, but I think Lily should reach out to another warlock for that.”

“Excuse me? You did not just say that,” Magnus hissed, twisting his head back to sneer at Alec. He had to pull his lips in to not laugh outright, but nodded anyway.

“You can make a rec--”

“Me, I recommend me.”

“Magnus--”

“Uh oh, lover’s spat.”

“Is  _ not _ ,” Alec shot back snappily. He looked back at the still-offended glare from his boyfriend, “We need to start branching out and establishing connections with disenfranchised downworlders. If we run to you all the time, then you never get a break, and we won’t get to collaborate with the majority.”

“Well--”

“You’re delegating, starting now.”

He waved a dismissive hand, “Fine, I’ll send you a list.”

Alec smirked, “Good.”

Magnus tilted his head back with a grin on his face, eyes bright and happy, and Alec couldn’t prevent the goofy smile from spreading across his face. He resisted the impulse to kiss him, but squeezed his shoulders. Months ago, he never would have taken Alec’s advice like that. Months ago, Alec wouldn’t have dreamed of offering it. 

“Ugh, the two of you are disgusting.”

“Hush, Elvira, we’re adorable. You’re just jealous because--” Lily attempted to freeze his mouth, but Magnus merely shook it off. “Rude, just rude.” 

“No using powers in here,” Luke drawled in exasperation, “we signed an agreement.” 

“Tell that to Bane.”

Magnus smirked, “I can’t control my animal magnetism, darling.” He reached up a hand to stroke Alec’s shoulder coquettishly. Alec rolled his eyes, but bent to press a kiss to Magnus’ cheek anyway. He pinched him when he tried to slide his arm around Alec’s neck to keep him there. The warlock only laughed and swatted at him.   

“I’m afraid you’ll have to try.” He immediately launched into a discussion with Lily and Luke about checkpoints. Magnus occasionally chimed in, but warlocks were far too disorganized and free wheeling to be of any use in protective strategies. Alec caught his gaze every once in awhile, rolling his eyes at his commentary and antics for the remainder of the meeting. But all in all, Magnus was much quieter than usual. He quickly realized that it was because he wasn’t arguing nearly as much; he wasn’t as snide or sarcastic about Shadowhunters even if he made the occasional quip about the Clave. This naturally led to realizing that Alec was referring the Clave less and less during these meetings.They didn’t need the Clave for this; to understand how to conduct themselves and defend their homes. They didn’t need the Clave to know how to talk to each other. 

With that thought, his eyes sought out Magnus, who cocked his head curiously in response. Alec lost track of the conversation, just staring at him. It was like his whole world snapped into place, the prominent things came into focus, and everything that wasn’t Magnus felt faded. The sole focus of his attention watched him back, an odd, concerned look on his face, but he was at least attempting to listen to Luke talk. Alec had given up because things made  _ sense _ again.

It wasn’t long until Lily and Luke got sick of butting heads and sick of Magnus being snarky, and sick of Alec being too distracted by Magnus to intervene on anyone’s behalf. So they called it a day, and the vampire and werewolf made their goodbyes. Alec, for all of his efforts, was still keeping Magnus in his line of sight, even as he gathered up papers and materials. Apparently, it was Magnus’ turn to watch him, feet up on the table, head tilted, looking absolutely stunning. Alec reminded himself at least a dozen times that he was  _ at work _ . 

“Want to tell me what’s going on in that pretty head of yours?” Magnus asked from where he sat. Alec took a long moment to answer. He wasn’t sure if he could put it into words properly. Wasn’t sure what it was he was feeling. It was stupid, he knew that much. He shoved the last of his papers into a folder and tossed it onto the table, letting his hands come to his hips.

“We’re back together,” he said finally, standing there, watching his warlock boyfriend helplessly. It had been three months. Three months since their fights. And break up Three months since Sebastian. Three months since Edom. Three months since Max died. Three months since they’d gotten back together.  Alec shook his head ruefully.

“I know it sounds stupid, but…” He ran a hand through his hair, roughing it up while he searched for the words. “Everything has just felt so--”

“I know,” Magnus interrupted. That got all of Alec’s attention again, his eyes locked on Magnus, who looked just as sweet and patient as ever. What’s more he looked calm, and didn’t seem to think Alec was batshit crazy.

“You do?”

Magnus’ answer was to swing his legs off the table and stand up in a fluid movement. He circled around the table, and came to a stop in front of Alec. He straightened Alec’s jacket, brushed off whatever imaginary lint he’d seen, let his hands linger on his chest.

“Yeah, I do. I noticed it, too.”

“You did?” Alec asked, his voice sounded pathetic, broken even. Magnus nodded. Apparently his voice wasn’t up to par either. Alec found that he was nodding too, his arms going around Magnus, and they were pressing together for a kiss they both needed. 

When Alec finally drew away to get some air, he dropped his forehead to Magnus’ and let himself relish having him close. They were back together. Their wheels had finally stopped spinning, and they trusted each other completely. They were stronger.  _ Together _ .

  
  



End file.
